What are you doing to help create change and social justice in your community? It's a question Duval County teachers will soon be able to answer easily.
This year, a handful of them will go through training on making social justice a part of their instruction.
"Teachers are really in a unique position to bring awareness to not only just students but to the community as well," said Leena Hall-Young, Duval County's 2020 teacher of the year.
Teaching tolerance, it's the mission and the name of the Southern Poverty Law Center project giving the Jacksonville Public Education Fund a grant for anti-bias teacher training.
"It's not just discrimination or racism alone," Hall-Young said. "It's also about equity, it's also about tolerance. So having a safe space in the classroom at all times to actually open the dialogue, understand where they're coming from, understand where you're coming from, and then find a solution."
The teachers will go through anti-bias training in addition to an action research project. They will identify a problem and work to solve it, hopefully influencing teaching across the school community.
"It's going to realign the focus for those who may not have been as in tune with the issues are now going to have the opportunity to get a very close look, work closely with other like-minded individuals,'" Hall-Young said. "So that we as educators can bring this information not only to our students but to the community so that we can enact change."
Equity is the focus of the Jacksonville Public Education Fund.
"The biggest goal that we really want to do is close that opportunity gap," said Warren Buck, Jacksonville Public Education Fund director of teacher leadership.
Caught in the opportunity gap are racial and ethnic minorities, students from low-income families, students with disabilities, and English language learners, according to the National Education Association.
"Bring about an awareness to equity," Hall-Young said. "It's not just black, white, it's equity for all. That change has to happen."
She says this is a timely opportunity to continue the conversation in the safe space of a classroom and at all levels.